HELP! PLEASE!!!
Gary owns an island monkey preserve which has a length of 2x + 1 units and a width of x – 4 units. If the island is 1,586 square units in size, what are the dimensions of the island?

Question

anonymous · Answer

(2x + 1)(x - 4) = 1586
Expand left hand side with FOIL.
2x^2 + x - 8x -4 = 1586
2x^2 - 7x -4 = 1586.
Subtract 1586 from both sides:
2x^2 - 7x - 1590 = 0
Apply the quadratic formula (or use wolfram alpha).
We get x = -53/2 or x = 30.
x CANNOT be negative, so x = 30.

61 by 26 is your answer.